One form of faucet valve commonly used today is the so called "drop-in" valve which operates to control flow therethrough typically by a 90.degree. or greater rotation of the valve control handle. This type of valve is often referred to as the non-rising type because control of flow is accomplished without vertical movement of the handle.
Typically separate non-rising valves are provided for the hot and cold water supply. The outlet form each valve is connected to a common discharge of the hot and cold water metered through the valves.
Valve assemblies of this type described in the past have utilized long wearing ceramic material that has been lapped and honed to provide extremely flat valving surfaces that can slide against one another to selectively seal liquid under pressure. Examples of such valves, as illustrated in the prior art, are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,207,181; 3,645,493; 3,780,758; 3,807,455; 3,810,602; 3,831,621; 3,834,416; 4,005,728; 4,250,912; 4,331,176 and 4,453,567.
Typically the valves illustrated in these patents contain a pair of ceramic valve elements with porting in one or both elements. Flow through the porting in the elements is controlled by 90.degree. or greater rotation of one ceramic element relative to another fixed element.
A problem common to most valves of this type is provision of means for converting the valve from clockwise (e.g., cold water) operation to counterclockwise (e.g., hot water) operation. To simplify inventory and installation it is desirable to have a single valve which can be used to control cold and hot water inlets with minimum modification to accommodate clockwise and counterclockwise operation, respectively, by the user. The prior art has approached this problem from several directions none of which has the simplicity or advantages of this invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,758 (columns 5 and 6) this problem is addressed by providing different valve stems, one for clockwise and the other for counterclockwise operation. This is an expensive solution to the problem and one fraught with problems of loose extra parts that can be lost or installed backwards.
Another approach to the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,455 in which a complicated procedure is described for aligning one of the ceramic valve discs within the valve body at the time the valve is assembled. No provision is made for adaptation of the valve for clockwise and counterclockwise movement at the time of installation as provided for in the instant invention. Other approaches to the problem are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,831,621 (see column 6) and 4,005,728 (see column 5).
The prior art recognizes the need for means to bias the ceramic valve elements together to prevent separation of same when subjected to internal hydraulic pressures. Biasing means used in the prior art include springs (for example as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,645,189; 3,645,493 and 3,807,455) as well as O-rings and O-ring retainers sandwiched between the valve elements and the valve cartridge body (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,831,621; 3,810,602; 4,331,176; 4,453,567). The instant invention discloses a novel sealing configuration which biases the ceramic elements together and seals off a leakage path between the periphery of the ceramic elements and the surrounding valve body with a novel compressible sealing means.
Typically, leakage along the valve stem or spindle is prevented by one or more O-rings between the spindle and mating bore in the valve body through which the spindle passes (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,181; 3,645,289; 3,780,758; 4,005,728). Over a period of usage these O-rings dry up thereby inviting leakage and/or difficulty in rotating the stem. The current invention overcomes these problems with novel means for maintaining the lubricity of the O-ring seals used in this invention.